2 MY FIRST TIGER. 



cicuiiy spent twelve- months of my existence ; and at the end of that time 

 I obtained a Government appointment as Assistant Channel Superintendent 



Twenty-eight miles from Mysore, the former capital and still the seat of 

 the native Court, is the Commissariat station of Hoonsoor, my appointed 

 headquarters. My work consisted in looking after about 150 miles of 

 river-drawn irrigation channels, all of them works of antiquity. Whilst 

 traversing the Hanagode jungles through which the major portion of these 

 flowed, I had sufficient leisure to gratify my taste for sport ; in fact I had 

 only to carry a rifle or gun with me on the channels to get frequent shots 

 at spotted-deer, pig, and jungle-fowl, which small game quite contented me 

 then. There was nothing large, except tigers ; but though I used to be in 

 some pleasurable apprehension of meeting them, as their footmarks were 

 numerous, I never saw any. At last a friend, the Commissariat officer at 

 Hoonsoor, got up a beat with elephants and took me with him, and I had 

 the proud satisfaction of shooting my first tiger ! Shall I ever forget how 

 anxiously I watched Major M. as he rode an elephant up to the tiger, pros- 

 trate in a bush, to see if he was really defunct ? How earnestly I adjured 

 him from my tree, " not to shoot at him if he was dead ; " and how be, nat- 

 urally incensed at this advice from a griffin, stopped his elephant to inform 

 me that he was " not such a fool as to shoot at a dead tiger ! " 



In two years, at the end of 1868, 1 attained a fair position owing to the 

 advancement of officers above me, and reached the top of the tree of our 

 small department. The whole of the irrigation channels in the Mysore 

 province, aggregating 716 miles, then came under my charge, and the city 

 of Mysore became my headquarters. I had a large extent of country, 

 including several fine jungles in addition to my old haunts, to travel over 

 in the prosecution of my work. I had a sufficient salary to afford a good 

 battery, and the money necessary for getting good sport ; and I spent most 

 of my leave and all my cash upon it. In 1873 an opportunity was 

 affijrded me of changing what had hitherto been my favourite recreation 

 only — sport — into the business of my Ufe. I had before this time shot aU 

 the kinds of large game found in the Mysore country, and t.aii become 

 familiar with jungle matters, I had been especially interested in noting 

 the habits of wild elephants ; and upon my repeated representations, aided 

 by the support of an official of high standing, a thorough sportsman, and 

 able to form an accurate opinion on my proposals, the Mysore Govern- 

 ment was induced to undertake the capture of some of the herds which 

 roamed, useless and destructive, through various parts of the pro\dnce, and I 

 was appointed to carry out the experiment. 



I succeeded, as I shall hereafter relate, in capturing a large number of 



